T-shirt shop left maroon-faced after SEC geography gaffe

COLLEGE STATION – Maybe one day Aggieland Outfitters will appear omniscient for its ability to predict conference expansion. Until then, the College Station T-shirt shop is left apologizing for adding a state to the Southeastern Conference.

On a T-shirt that’s since apparently been pulled from the racks, Aggieland Outfitters (henceforth known as “AO”) included the state of North Carolina on a map meant to represent the old SEC. Texas A&M and Missouri are joining the SEC prior to this football season (giving the powerhouse conference 14 teams), and North Carolina has been mentioned as a possibility should the league expand to 16 teams in the near future.

AO issued a mea culpa on its website Tuesday:

“We would like to apologize for a t-shirt that has come under fire for its inaccuracies. Many members of the media, especially those connected to other schools in Texas, have insinuated that Texas A&M made these shirts, and that Texas A&M doesn’t know geography. That’s simply not true. Aggieland Outfitters designed the shirt and simply made a mistake.

The shirt was originally designed to reflect the SEC states before expansion on the front, and then refer to the addition of a “Texas style of football” on the back. The original sketch did not have North Carolina on it, but when an artist drew the map, it was added by mistake.

Texas and Missouri were never part of the design, as it was supposed to be a nod to the original 12 members of the SEC.

The shirts have been pulled from the stores and website, and we’ve addressed the issue internally. We have also put several measures into place to make sure that this sort of error does not happen again.

While it was a simple error, our biggest concern is that Texas A&M is associated with it, and that was never our intention. We strive to be the No. 1 retailer of Texas A&M merchandise, and will continue to design and sell the best possible selection for Aggies and A&M fans everywhere.